The present invention relates to a protective arrangement on a wheel housing of a motor vehicle shell. More particularly, the present invention relates to a protective arrangement having a crumple zone, in particular a front crumple zone, in which two longitudinal members extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and along the inside of the associated lateral wheel housing, having a wheel which is held by wheel guide members within the assigned wheel housing, having a front wall, which limits the wheel housing on its side remote from the crumple zone, relative to the passenger compartment, and having means for the protection against excessive penetration of the front wall by the wheel moving towards the front wall in the event of a crash, the protecting means being arranged between the tread circumference of the wheel and the front wall.
A protective arrangement on a wheel housing of a motor vehicle shell is described in DE-AS 22 57 940 and relates to a front part for motor vehicles. A deflector member is arranged on the rear wall of a front wheel housing. The deflector member has welded-together sheet metal parts which are welded or bolted to the rear wall of the wheel housing.
The deflector members functions to guide the front wheels, as they move backwards against the deflector members in the event of a frontal impact, outwards and out of the wheel housing and so remove them from the path of deformation. As a result of the oblique outward and rearward deflection of the front wheels, the intention is, among other things, to prevent a deformation of the front wall of the vehicle and penetration of the wheel rim into the footwell.
As the front wheels are deflected obliquely outwards and out of the wheel housings and backwards into the region of the two front doors by the deflector members in the event of a frontal impact, this protective arrangement has the disadvantage that the front doors, in the event of a relatively serious accident, can be possible to open only partially and with a great expenditure of force, or even impossible to open at all, as a result of which it is made more difficult for an accident victim to escape from the vehicle.